ISIS general is ‘back in Europe with 400 soldiers’ after fleeing Syria
Disguised as refugees and able to cross borders without being identified: ISIS general who blew up a hostage with a rocket and decapitated another prisoner is ‘back in Europe with 400 soldiers’ after fleeing Syria
- Kosovan Lavdrim Muhaxheri is ‘back in Europe with 400 of his trusted soldiers’
- Intelligence source says men disguised themselves as refugees to reach Europe
- Ex-NATO soldier fled from Syria warzone after ISIS suffered huge military loses
- He left for Syria in late 2012 and has appeared in several propaganda videos
- Intelligence sources say they ‘disguised themselves as refugees’ to reach Europe
An ISIS general once pictured decapitating
a prisoner is back in Europe with up to 400 of his most trusted
soldiers after fleeing the war zone in Syria, it has been claimed.
Ex-NATO soldier Lavdrim Muhaxheri and his
men are among thousands who have fled after ISIS suffered devastating
losses in war-torn Syria, according to sources in the Italian
intelligence services.
Many of the fighters are feared to have
disguised themselves as refugees in order to cross borders to get into
Europe without being identified, according to information leaked from
the spying agency.
Muhaxheri, also known as Abu Abdullah al
Kosova, is not only a Kosovo Albanian ISIS leader but also one of the
most public figures because of his foreign roots and his efforts to
recruit other foreign jihadi fighters.
He left for Syria in late 2012 and has
appeared in several propaganda videos, calling Albanians to join jihad,
and has uploaded photographs of himself appearing to decapitate a man,
as well as a video where he kills a captive with a rocket.
On September 24, 2014, the US State Department designated Muhaxheri as a global terrorist.
Italian newspaper ‘L’Espresso’, quoting
the intelligence services, said that between 300 and 400 members of the
Islamic ‘caliphate’ had come to Kosovo with him.
His arrival coincided with plans for an
attack on Israel’s national soccer team and other targets which he is
believed to have masterminded after arriving back in the country.
Prosecutors say Muhaxheri and fellow ISIS
fighter Ridvan Haqifi planned attacks on international and state
institutions, ultimately with the intent to establish an Islamic state.
They say he planned to attack the Israeli
football team during a match in Albania and Kosovo government
institutions, as well as Serbian Orthodox Church sites, were also
potential targets.
Ex-NATO soldier Lavdrim Muhaxheri and his men
are among thousands who have fled after ISIS suffered devastating losses
in war-torn Syria, according to Italian intelligence services.
In total 19 people were arrested as a
result of the plot being uncovered, with the trail to the mastermind
reportedly leading back to Muhaxheri.
Quoting an unnamed security source the
paper said: ‘Numerous jihadists are returning to Europe and the Balkans,
aiming to hit the old continent at its heart. Some of them are being
identified by security services, but many others manage to cross the
borders without being identified.’
The Italian intelligence reports however
have so far been rejected by Kosovo police, who despite admitting that
he was probably behind the attacks, insisted that their information was
that he was still in Syria.
It is not the first time he has managed to
sneak back into the country. He managed to get back into Kosovo in 2013
and was photographed to prove that he was there, but then he returned
to Syria again before he could be arrested.
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